episode_0006

Just a moment ago, Claire, who had been in high spirits, suddenly grimaced, and Arina furrowed her brow as if thoroughly displeased.

“It would be best to answer directly with the true meaning behind your words, Karsein. Are you implying that despite our meticulous supervision, this meal we’ve prepared is not worth eating?”

Her response seemed to demand a second hearing to understand its implications.

“I’m sorry, but my answer wasn’t wrong.”

“Why ask when you already know?” I retorted brusquely.

Under the watchful eyes of the two sisters, my refusal to partake of the immaculate food was clear. This prompted Claire, who had seemed taken aback, to unleash a string of curses she couldn’t hold back.

“Hey, what the hell? Is this a joke? What kind of attitude is that towards someone trying to help?”

“Karsein, if you admit you were wrong this time, I’ll let it go. There won’t be a second chance.”

Both walls threatened me fiercely, demanding I retract the words I had just spoken. But I had done nothing wrong. This was self-defense, the right attitude, and so I stood my ground.

“I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“This…!”

As I persisted in my response, Claire’s hand shot up as if to strike me. If it had descended, it would have landed squarely on my cheek.

“Sister.”

“There’s no value in raising a hand against scum like him. Your hands will only get dirty. Besides, he’s still a patient. If you hurt him, Shaden will be the one dealing with it.”

The second sister’s determined hand blocked the impending blow, but it was exasperating to see her more concerned about the physician than the patient.

“Oh, right. We were foolish! We were trying to provide a meal for someone like you who can’t even manage to eat properly!”

“Yeah, we were foolish. We had no reason to call the doctor and worry about providing a meal. Leaving the sumptuous feast untouched and refusing to eat, it seems it was all just a case of reaping what you sow due to malnutrition or whatever.”

“Continuing to eat food filled with gritty sand and salt, or leaving what’s been prepared untouched and collapsing again. This idiot.”

Clare briskly left the room first.

After that,

“If you don’t want to eat, leave it alone. Let the maids eat. It may be a dinner fit for a broken-legged commoner like you, but it’s too good for an ingrate like you. I don’t understand why I called for Bagrand’s chief physician, head chef, and maids for your sake.”

Ariana, who had become tense, also delivered a cold jab before leaving.

Alone in the room, I couldn’t help but burst into bitter laughter.

“Hah, too good for an ingrate’s mouth? Leave what’s been prepared untouched and collapse? How amusing.”

I chuckled as I sat down.

“Well, what would you know? You’re just like my two older sisters.”

A snort escaped me.

Looking at Ariana and Clare, who showed a degree of role compatibility, the snort naturally escaped me.

Both of them were nobles, so they had never experienced hunger. Both grew up in wealthy households, so they grew up healthy. That’s why they couldn’t understand.

But claiming to understand a beggar’s heart when you’ve never lived like one, I know better than anyone about Carcine’s physical condition.

That’s not something to eat with this physical condition. No matter how much rare delicacies are gathered, even if they stimulate appetite through sight and smell, it must never be eaten.

“That’s not something you don’t eat, it’s something you can’t eat, you bastards.”

Unaware of anything, I sneered and sneered at the two who brought food that made my mouth water to the point of breaking legs.

***

“I tried to help, and for what?”

The way she stubbornly raised her head as if to say, “Are you kidding me telling me to eat this?” and then confidently strutted as if nothing was wrong, infuriated me.

Still wearing a discontented expression, Clare briskly walked down the corridor.

Then suddenly, small wrinkles appeared on her dress.

“Sister.”

When I turned around, the cute youngest was standing there, holding onto my skirt.

“What’s wrong, Flora?”

Clare smiled broadly, aligning herself with Flora’s eye level. Flora hesitated to respond, then shyly averted her gaze and chuckled softly. “Um, no. It’s nothing at all.” “What’s wrong? If you’re worried about something, spill it out to me,” Clare urged. “Well… I forgot what I was going to say. Hehe.” “Geez.” Watching her youngest sibling laugh aimlessly, Clare gently stroked the cute sister’s head.

Suddenly realizing they were near Karsein’s room, Clare instinctively held Flora’s hand and headed in the opposite direction. “Flora, will you be with me today?” “Huh? Why?” “Well, earlier you didn’t properly eat your meal. I want to make sure you eat.” Recalling Karsein collapsing in his room, she knew Flora, who hadn’t eaten properly, would also be anxious. However, Flora vehemently opposed, “Today is embroidery practice day, so I can’t be with you.” “Oh, I see.” Embroidery practice. That was a relief. With the teacher right there, there would be no chance of Flora collapsing.

“Then may I at least walk you to your room?” “Yes, Clare unnie!” After escorting Flora to her room, just as Clare returned, the attending physician, Shaden, arrived and inquired, “Shaden? What’s the matter?” “I heard that both young ladies went to see Karsein directly. That’s why I’m here.” Clare’s eyebrows sharpened at the mention of Karsein’s name. Thinking back to what she had heard earlier, it was not something she wanted to hear. “Speak. What is it?” “I came to ask if the master had eaten, that’s all.”

As the conversation turned to the topic of eating, Clare’s expression soured even more. Irritation surged through her mind again, and she replied sarcastically, “Even if it’s served, he won’t eat it. Whether he collapses or not, let him handle it himself.” “Excuse me? What… Are you saying he didn’t eat?” “He said he wouldn’t eat. Even when we went to the kitchen and made proper food, he refused to eat with me.” Shaden was visibly shocked. “No, that’s severe malnutrition. Are you sure he refused to eat?”

“Fine! I told them to prepare the table with the finest cuisine. From the head chef and all the way down to the maids, my sister and I checked every dish to ensure it was immaculate. What can I do if they refuse to eat it?”

What can I possibly do? They rejected a meticulously prepared meal to ensure nothing foreign would be included. Not only that, they outright refused to eat it and even went as far as to demand that I eat it instead. When given another chance, they still refused and insisted it wasn’t their fault, trying to deceive me.

It was beyond exasperating.

“Goodness, are you not concerned, miss?”

Shayden exclaimed in shock.

“Concern? That’s absurd. It’s their fault for not eating it.”

It was a concern that most people wouldn’t even entertain. They were living in a duke’s residence, enjoying luxurious clothes and sumptuous banquets every day. Why should anyone worry?

Though Claire responded sharply with an irritated tone, Shayden was taken aback once again.

“Where does a newly awakened patient find such strength? Such things shouldn’t be forced upon an ailing patient.”

“If you’re feeling unwell, just use my name to prescribe some medicine. No one would question using that level of medication in a duke’s residence.”

“Medication won’t solve this. You don’t even have the energy to digest. If you succumb to hunger and try to consume it, it will become even more dangerous.”

“…What?”

At the mention of it being more dangerous to eat, her mind momentarily spun.

“Wait, more dangerous? What are you saying? Then, does that mean all the food my sister and I brought is…?”

“Fatty and indigestible foods could lead to discomfort when entering the stomach. In fact, consuming these foods could worsen your condition. There are certain foods that you absolutely must not eat! At this point, you can only have porridge.”

After finishing his statement, Shayden hurriedly declared that now was not the time for this discussion and swiftly made his way to check on Karsein’s condition.

She didn’t know. She had asked for better care, thinking that good food would quickly restore health. But instead, had it become poison?

Clare’s fist trembled.

“…You there.”

“Yes, Miss Clare.”

“Hurry to Karceine’s room and prevent him from eating. Quickly!!”

The maids rushed busily to Karceine’s room.

“Miss Clare?”

“He probably hasn’t eaten. He said he wouldn’t. I’ll go to the kitchen and make arrangements for the porridge.”

“Start with easily digestible things. He needs to eat slowly for a while.”

“…Alright.”

Shayden finally released a heavy sigh of relief. In contrast, Clare seemed somewhat complicated.

And then.

-Thud!

“Ouch…!”

Someone’s fingernail broke.

***

Not long after Clare and Arina left, the maids rushed in. They checked the food, worried that someone might have eaten it, but thankfully, no one had. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now they realize.”

Forcing greasy and hard-to-digest food into the weakened patient’s stomach would act more like poison than nourishment.

In the end, all the promised food disappeared, each taken by the maids. Even the food cart vanished, leaving nothing behind.

But soon, another set of dishes arrived at my room.

This time, it was proper food for the patient to eat.

“How pitiful.”

The scent of food wafting from the already emaciated Karceine’s body made it hard to endure. It was the kind of food that made you want to taste it, even if just for a moment, despite seeming like it would have no flavor at all.

Despite that, as I took a spoonful of porridge and put it in my mouth, these words involuntarily escaped me.

“…Disgustingly delicious.”

It was such a bland meal, yet why did it feel so tasty? That brought back an unpleasant memory.

Craving a common hot dog that others were eating, feeling envious over a triangle kimbap, and the day I felt repulsed by a discarded lunchbox on my first day working at a convenience store.

The sour and sweet taste of the stir-fried kimchi left by the guest, who complained about putting too much in, was a mystery as to why it was left at all. The single piece of ham disappeared as soon as it entered my mouth, and the remaining side dishes were devoured hastily, leaving no time to savor them, leaving only the memory of emptiness.

It was the memory of feeling full for the first time. The memory of tasting the true flavor of untouched food for the first time. I couldn’t forget the feeling of being full even now.

In that house, due to someone in the family always getting their hands on the food before I could properly appreciate it, there were many times when I couldn’t even eat, let alone feel the real taste.

“…Ah, already.”

When I came to my senses, the plate was completely empty.

▶ Hunger status has been completely restored!

With the appearance of the message indicating that hunger had been restored.